Summary
The purpose of this guide is to provide a summary of the rationale for, and evidence underpinning, alcohol control measures available to Territorial Authorities (TAs) through Local Alcohol Policies (LAPs) as prescribed by the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (the Act). Current examples of implementation of LAP provisions by TAs are also provided. As the licensing and control of alcohol is not static, this guide is to be considered a living document to be updated over time, when required. It is to be read alongside other central and local government guidance on LAPs.
The guide illustrates a strong rationale and evidence base for many of the harm minimisation measures available through LAPs. In particular, restrictions on trading hours and measures to limit the clustering and density of licensed premises are supported by a comprehensive evidence. Restrictions on the location of licensed premises in relation to facilities (e.g. sensitive sites such as schools) are supported by more indirect evidence of the harm that may arise for vulnerable groups from close location to alcohol sales. However, as a comprehensive literature search was not undertaken to compile this guide, relevant studies may have been omitted. Furthermore, very few evaluations of the effects of policy interventions were identified. As such, most of the evidence in this guide relates to the association between licensing-related factors and alcohol harm.
The report found similarity with approaches used by TAs across Aotearoa New Zealand, and several differences that reflect localism of policy development. For example, there were no standard times applied to the ‘one-way door’ practice, or standard spatial proximity restrictions between new licences and existing licences or between new licences and sensitive sites. When considered as a whole, there was also a sense that the regulatory approaches to alcohol licensing and control were somewhat piecemeal and largely reflected the status quo. The risk of costly and lengthy appeals prior to the enactment of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Community Participation) Amendment Act 2023 (the 2023 Amendment Act)1 likely played a role in very few LAPs containing substantial restrictions to alcohol availability.
The guide provides an overview of LAPs and the weight given to these statutory policies in decision-making, e.g. licensing decisions by a District Licensing Committee (DLC) and the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority: Te Mana Waeture Take Waipiro (ARLA). It also places LAPs in the context of other national and international approaches to reducing alcohol harm and inequities, and examines alcohol harm generally and the definition given to it in terms of the object of the Act. Following on from this, the guide focusses on the process of developing a LAP and what it can cover, that is: the types of licences (on-licences, off-licences, club licences [excluding those with a permanent charter = and special licences]; the area covered (all or part of the district, or districts if a joint LAP); and the policies that may be included as set out in section 77(1) of the Act.
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